The production of a seal between a window, under which a screen is positioned, and the base plate is known, in particular from French patent application FR 2 746 904. The invention which is the subject of said document lies in the selection of the material of the seal so as to allow sealing between the window and the base plate.
Said document shows in FIG. 3 a screen which “floats in space”; no means for securing the screen is described. It is assumed that the screen is secured to the casing, but there is no information in this regard.
A first drawback of this configuration is that the seal is likely to be damaged by the heat emitted by a hot item of cookware which may be positioned very close to or even on top of it.
A second drawback of this configuration is that it is difficult to precisely position and secure the screen, in all three dimensions of space, with respect to the window which is located above it; however, this positioning is very important so as to ensure a perception of quality of the screen display through the window.
These two drawbacks are reinforced by the fact that the connection between the window and the base plate is a connection with permanent elasticity according to said document. However, this connection is weak with respect to the heat which may be emitted by an item of cookware in the vicinity of or on the connection and is thus not rigid, and the window may thus move with use. This movement is detrimental to the perception of the screen display through the window.
This problem of good perception of the screen display through the window is even more important since it is now possible to produce small-size screens having very high levels of resolution; however, if the last element interposed between the screen and the viewer is not well designed, then the final resolution will be seriously affected thereby.
The provision of a seal comprising silicone between a base plate and a window is furthermore known from European patent applications EP 570 670 and EP 2 226 565, and also from German patent application DE 10 2007 021 939. Such a seal is heat resistant but expensive and is difficult to employ in a large-scale industrial manufacturing method, in particular by molding.